Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy was a novelist, playwright, short story writer, columnist, and speaker. She was born in Dalkey, Dublin. Binchy published 16 novels, four short-story collections, a play, and a novella. A 17th novel, A Week in Winter, was published posthumously. 

She was the oldest of the four children. She studied history at University College Dublin. Before she was a writer, she taught French, Latin, and history at various girls' schools. In 1968, while teaching at a Jewish school, her student's parents gave her a trip to Israel where she worked in a kibbutz. To reassure her parents about her safety, she wrote letters home. Her father got these letters published in the ‘Irish Times’. In 1968, this led to her getting a job writing articles, columns and becoming the first Women's Page editor.

Her first 2 publications were short story collections, Central Line (1978) and Victoria Line (1980). Her first novel Light a Penny Candle (1982). sold for £52,000, the largest sum ever paid for a first novel.

In 1978, Binchy won a Jacob's Award for her RTÉ play, Deeply Regretted By. In 1999, she received the British Book Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2000, she received a People of the Year Award. In 2001, Scarlet Feather won the W.H Smith Book Award for Fiction. 

Many of her works have been adapted for radio, film, and television, Most notably Circle of Friends which was made into a film in 1995.

She was married to British children's author Gordon Snell from 1977 until her death on 30th July, 2012.

In September 2012, a new garden behind the Dalkey Library in County Dublin was named in her memory.

In 2014, her alma mater  University College Dublin created an annual Maeve Binchy Travel Award which is €4000 award to help students travel to enhance their writing.